UK FM: Next US president 'must aid Middle East''

Whoever wins the American presidential race should lead efforts to bring peace between the Israelis and Palestinians, UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said Tuesday. The Foreign Secretary claimed the president could have less than a year from their inauguration to strike a deal and end 45 years of border disputes and Middle East bloodshed. He told MPs the chance of a two-state solution was "slipping away", and urged either a re-elected Barack Obama or newly elected Mitt Romney to put their "full weight" behind a bid for peace in 2013. Hague said: "The priority is for the United States, obviously after their election, and whoever is successful, to lead a major push to restart negotiations to arrive at a two-state solution. "The opportunity to do so is slipping away and may have slipped away within another year or two. For this US administration this is absolutely crucial, and we have already said that to President Obama and to governor Romney." Hague added: "If they fail to do that, then I think we will be entering a new and even more dangerous situation." Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has suggested his people would seek United Nations observer status as they bid for more international recognition - a move likely to split countries at the UN Security Council and General Assembly in New York, British commentators said. Speaking at Foreign Office questions in the House of Commons, Hague said: "Actual negotiations would be infinitely preferable to divisive, symbolic gestures, so we are advising President Abbas not to go down this path of tabling such a resolution at the moment".